Cursebreaker
by saxwarrior
Summary: Bill Weasley, adventure-seeking, excitment-craving, BAMF cursebreaker with Gringotts has an assignment to get to an enchanted Golden Lotus before a Dark Wizard does. Just for fun. Very Indiana Jones-ish, but with Harry Potter elements.
1. The Heart of the Nile

A/N: I know I'm gonna write some things in this story that may appear to be inconsistencies, when really it's just before Harry Potter's time. First and foremost, this is before Bill ever met Fleur, so he's allowed to have some fun. Also, this is before Quirrell got corrupted by Voldemort, so he's not a bad guy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

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...

The hot Egyptian sun was setting as two figures walked in silence across the stone and sand. The Muslim's evening prayers were rising around them, but the two figures, one of whom was particularly short, paid no heed.

The taller of the two was dressed very peculiarly indeed. His long red hair hung down over a thin white cloak. He and the short figure, who was wrapped completely in bandages, giving him the appearance of a rather short mummy, reached their destination. A great stone sphynx loomed over them, and they descended some sandy steps to come to a standstill in front of a solid wall.

"The door's not here," came a muffled voice from behind the bandages.

"Give it a moment," said the red-haired man, reaching into the folds of his cloak and withdrawing an ancient looking scroll.

The short figure was irritably taking off his bandages. Beneath them, anyone would've been shocked to see, was not a short man as was expected; the creature before them had an ugly face and clawed hands. A goblin. The man, however, paid no heed to his companion and was unsurprised to see that it was not, in fact, human.

The goblin peered over at the scroll the wizard was reading hurriedly and studied the text before saying, "That's not Egyptian."

"No," said the wizard, who was reading it hurriedly as if committing it to memory. "This tomb was built while the Israelites were enslaved. This is Hebrew." He rolled up the scroll again and looked expectantly at the setting sun.

The man and the goblin stood in silence as the last rays of sun disappeared over the horizon. The Goblin reached into a small knapsack and withdrew a torch disproportional to the knapsack from which it came. The man drew out a thin wand and muttered an incantation. As he spoke, flames flew up from the torch, illuminating what was unmistakably an entranceway.

The wizard pushed forward eagerly, and the goblin followed with a look of greed in his beady eyes.

The entranceway led them down a set of dark stone steps and when they reached the bottom, they came to a wall, but it was unlike any wall either of them had ever seen. It was as if there was a pool that was confused as to which way was up, and so it appeared that the man and goblin were standing sideways looking down at the pool. It was also a dark crimson red.

The goblin took a step forward and stuck his finger into the red liquid, withdrew it and stuck it in his mouth. "Blood," he said.

The man nodded. "I take it you won't be coming any farther."

The goblin agreed. "I trust you, Weasley. Just return with the Heart of the Nile."

Bill Weasley removed his cloak and handed it to the goblin, revealing a maroon long-sleeved shirt tucked into dark green pants which covered most of his dragon-hide boots. He pulled a hairband from his wrist and tied his long red hair into a ponytail. Bill reached into his own knapsack and took out his wand. The goblin's hand twitched as if he expected to have to hold the wand as well. Bill noticed, but pretended not to.

He took a step closer to the wall of blood and in another step, half submerged himself in it. Then, his center of gravity fell and Bill landed into the wall of blood as if diving into it. When he resurfaced for air, his gravity remained distorted and he looked up at the goblin.

"I hope it's not to deep... or, uh, far," and he dived once more. He held his breath, swimming through the blood until he reached the bottom and burst through what might have been a surface, except Bill's buoyancy was trying to bring him back to the other surface. Bill struggled to pull himself out of the blood, until finally his gravity returned to normal and he fell forward onto the stone floor.

There were two unlit torches bracketed on the wall. Bill took one and lit it, then proceeded through a small doorway leading away from the blood. As he approached, Bill heard the unmistakeable sound of croaking. He held his torch high, illuminating the path ahead of him. Every last inch of the corridor was covered with toads; toads leaping from one side of the hall to the next, toads looking down at Bill from the ceiling, giant toads occasionally snagging smaller toads with their toad-tongues. Toads.

Bill was gonna be sick.

Undoubtedly poisonous, Bill eyed the toads cautiously and he checked over all his clothes. His robes were magically imperviused, so nothing to worry about there. If a toad hopped at him, the magic would send them careening the other direction. Bill pulled the hood over his head and continued onward. His dragon hide boots crushed the toads in his path, but his imperviused robes protected him.

But once Bill was past the toads, he still didn't dare remove his cloak. Ahead was the unmistakeable sound of vicious bugs. Peering closely, Bill saw a hallway filled with gnats and flies, just as with the toads before. His robes and dragon hide boots would offer the same protection here.

Bill began to wonder if there was anything that would actually prove to be an obstacle standing between him and the Heart of the Nile, a magical diamond that defies Gamps Law of Elemental Transfiguration. It could produce unlimited amounts of any kind of food and drink imaginable. It was said to have created the Nile River itself.

Not that Bill cared about about any of that, but Gringotts Wizarding Bank would put the price of that diamond at 500,000 Galleons.

A great huffing sound tore Bill out of his thoughts. He cursed himself. He'd let his mind wander, let his guard down. Standing ahead of him, in the next antechamber was a great Bull, unlike any bull Bill had ever seen. It reeked of death. It's flesh seemed to be dripping from it's body in great globs. It's back was ripped open so that it's spine was exposed. Bill knew he was dealing with powerful dark magic; it was a Bull Inferius.

The bull charged Bill, but Bill was too quick for a freaking dead steak to best him. He dived aside and took a stance to defend himself. The Bull roared again and charged. This time, Bill had his wand out. "Inflammare!" he shouted. The bull burst into flames and Bill dodged it as it ran right past him, the heat from the flames singing Bill's robes. The bull lost control and smashed headfirst into the alabaster wall. The curse was broken, and the Inferius bull died. Bill silently congratulated himself, and moved on, thinking it had been the worst.

Ahead, Bill came to a pool, not like the pool of blood as before, but a simple waist deep pool that covered the whole hallway before him. Not trusting it, Bill tried to levitate himself over the pool. It didn't work. Taking a bit of a risk with the limited protections offered by the robes and boots, Bill waded into the pool. He didn't immediately feel any thing in the pool, although he was expecting to meet some manner of dark creature at any moment. He did not, and made it through to the other side safely. He thought he was unharmed, but was wrong.

His feet had suddenly become sore, and Bill took a moment to sit down and take his boots off. Then Bill saw the effects of the pool. Great boils, blisters and sores were erupting on his feet, ankles and legs as he had walked across the pool. The substance in the pool, whatever it had been, was not harmless. Thinking quickly, Bill reached into his bag and pulled out a potion. It cured most common ails and illnesses, and Bill hoped it wasn't too modern for the ancient magic of the pool. It wasn't, and his legs became normal once more. He stood. He felt fine.

Moving on, Bill came across an enchantment he recognized. Just like the Great Hall at Hogwarts, the antechamber before him had been enchanted to look like it opened upward to the heavens. However, Bill was quite certain he'd never seen the Great Hall hail before. Hailstones the size of Bludgers were falling from the ceiling and shattering into bits of ice on the floor below. Half the danger was slipping on the already fallen hail, even if Bill managed to avoid the falling hail. However, Bill knew how to stop this particular obstacle. "Finite incantatem!" he said, joyously, and proceeded through the now clear antechamber.

Thinking he'd outdone himself, Bill was congratulating his own prowess when a hail stone fell and shattered directly in front of him. Oh. Turns out the enchantment was impervius to finite incantatem. Oops. Bill rushed into a sprint as more hailstones came falling around him. A pretty hard one knocked into his shoulder, but Bill pressed onward, exiting the antechamber before more damage was sustained.

Bill had just caught his breath when a sharp pain struck his wrist. Bill swatted at it. It was a rather large bug that Bill recognized as a locust. It had apparently gone for the blood that was now drying on Bill robes. Bill paused. Something unnerved him about the bug, although he wasn't sure what. Then he realized; his robes had not imperviused the locust off.

Just as that chilling through struck him, Bill heard the rustling and humming of a thousand more locusts flying toward him and the blood on his robes that attracted them. Thinking fast, Bill cried, "Inflammare!" The locusts flying at him found themselves instead flying at a barrier of flames and Bill, rather than being torn apart by carnivorous locusts, was instead pelted by charred locust carapaces. Bill smirked. This cursebreaker stuff was too easy. He took one step forward and instantly, the torch went out.

It was like stepping into a room where someone had dropped Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. It was so dark, Bill couldn't see his hand mere centimeters from his face. Forcing himself not to panic, Bill dug into his bag and found what he was looking for. "Lumos," he whispered and a shriveled, darkened hand illuminated the hall around him. A hand of glory. Bill strode forward and found another archway with a door. Unlike the archway entering the tomb, however, this one was made of wood. Bill stepped up to it and examined it.

Then, a feeling of absolute dread struck him from nowhere and Bill was suddenly terrified. This was truly the worst obstacle that Bill had to face. It was like a reverse Legilimens. Somehow, what was about to happen just presented itself to Bill. He knew what the final obstacle was. He had to present a blood offering to this wooden archway or he would die. Bill didn't know how he knew this, he just did. Death had simply made itself clear to him. It was coming for him, drawing ever nearer.

Bill tried to keep his mind off the death that he sensed nearing (he tried very hard not to think "_my_ death") and concentrate on the archway. A blood offering... a blood offering. Then it occurred to Bill, the idea so obvious that Bill almost laughed. He ripped his cloak off, still soaked with blood and pressed it against the wooden archway. The fear passed and the door opened. Bill took a moment to catch his breath. The mounting fear of death coming for him was all that he'd thought of. It was more than enough to distract him from realizing he was soaked in blood.

He realized as he stepped through the wooden archway that this antechamber would be the last. The whole thing was wide and tall, the ceiling being supported by two massive wooden pillars. And between the two pillars, set on a raised pedestal, was a diamond in the perfect shape of an eye. The Heart of the Nile.

Bill proceeded cautiously. In his experience, the worst curse was the final one. However, nothing happened as he approached the pedestal. Nearer and nearer he came, until he was there. He took the diamond in his hands and waited, poised on his toes, for whatever would happen next. Nothing did.

Relaxing only slightly, Bill turned and hurried back the way he came. Then, he heard a loud hissing noise. Bill spun, shoved the diamond in his bag and drew his wand. He could see nothing except for the two wooden pillars. Then Bill saw something that hadn't been there before. The two pillars were no longer supporting the ceiling; a large fire had started at the cap of the pillars and was making it's way downward. However, the pillars did not burn, but the fire transfigured them into something big and scaly. As the fire reached the floor, the pillars were gone, and in their place were two massive snakes.

But Bill was gone.

As soon as he'd realized what was happening, he'd sprinted. He sprinted through the falling hail and across the cursed pool before the snakes had even transfigured completely. He kept racing past the other curses, most of which weren't a problem having been broken on Bill's way in, but the snakes were following quickly.

Bill made it past the bugs and frogs and came to the pool of blood. He leaped in and immediately was carried to the surface by his own buoyancy and forced his way out of the blood to correct his gravity. The goblin was waiting on him. "Well?"

"Come on!" said Bill, pushing him up the stairs to the exit. The goblin, however, wouldn't be swayed.

"Have you got it?" he asked, irritably.

"Yes, now move!" shouted Bill, and then, he head an explosive splash behind him that told him the snakes had broken through the wall of blood.

The goblin made it through the door first, and as soon as Bill came behind, the goblin slammed the door, which vanished instantly. Bill and the goblin thought they heard the muffled thump of two giant serpentine bodies crashing into an indestructible wall.

The goblin acted as if his life had never been in danger, choosing instead to focus on the results of the assignment. "Did you get it?"

Bill reached into his bag and withdrew the eye-shaped diamond. "The Heart of the Nile. Extraordinary magical properties and worth five-hundred thousand Galleons."

The goblin nodded. "Very good, Weasley. To Basik Alley, then."

"First," said Bill, and he squeezed the diamond and a large, salted sandwich appeared in his hand. Bill took a bite and nodded, approvingly. "Not bad. Not as good as Mum's, though."


	2. Reporter, Teacher, and Medjay

A/N: So, yeah, LittleHogwartsGirl caught all my Biblical allusions and she's probably not the only one. Subtlety is not my middle name. Also, not sure if fanfiction will allow me to use the word "Corona" so if you come across a sentence that doesn't make sense, it's because I used a specific brand-name and fanfiction doesn't wanna be sued.

And also, crap! I published the wrong Chapter on fanfiction. I'd written Edgecomb out of the story because I couldn't kill him and I didn't see how he'd otherwise survive. In this CORRECT version, Edgecomb is not in it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I do however own some of the DVDs. They were a disappointment.

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The market place at Alexandria in Egypt was just as alive and profitable as it had always been. What the Arabs above did not know, however, was the wizarding market place below their feet. Under ground, deeper than the sewers, was a cavern of brightly lit twists and turns where Egyptian wizards were selling wares and wearing sales. Bill had come to love the market place, Basik Alley. Not only was there a very nice wand shop, where Bill had purchased his new wand (he'd sent his Ollivander wand back home), the Egyptian witches were much less conservative than witches in England. You were less likely to come across a witch wearing flowing robes than you were a witch wearing a dress that wouldn't look inappropriate on a belly-dancer. Bill smiled cockily each time he passed them in the market place, and they giggled at "that red-haired Englishman" as they purchased liberal amounts of magical make up and clothes.

Bill, however, was not searching the marketplace for a date. He had to work. He and the goblin had returned to Alexandria that morning and Bill was now making his way into the Egyptian branch of Gringotts.

All goblin greed was the same. As soon as Bill entered the building and strode to his superior's, Forguk's, desk, the goblin only asked, "Did you get it?"

"Oh, the trip was fine," said Bill, presenting the Diamond on the desk. "No trouble. Had a blast."

Forguk wasn't smiling. "I didn't ask about your trip."

"Aw, you didn't have to," said Bill, smiling. "Sure you act all apathetic, but I know you care."

The goblin still didn't smile. Instead, he examined the Diamond. "You're sure this is the Heart of the Nile?"

Bill said nothing, and took the stone, gave it a quick squeeze, then set it down and reclined in the chair, a Corona in his other hand.

Forguk sneered. "What's that?"

After taking a sip of the beer, Bill said, "Muggle drink. Illegal in the Arab world, so it's good we've got this stone really. Employee morale will shoot up like a snitch."

"I don't care for employee morale," said Forguk. "Goblins are only unhappy when the bank vaults are empty, which is never, and cursebreakers enjoy the job too much to be unhappy."

"You seem rather sure of yourself," said Bill, taking another swig of beer.

"Enough nonsense," said Forguk. "You have another assignment."

"Bring it on," said Bill, not at all bothered by the abrupt change of topic. He was used to it by now. Goblins. All work and no play.

"This is complicated," said Forguk. "With me." He stood and made his way past the other goblins working at desks and into a private room in the back. Bill followed, bringing his beer with him.

Once inside, Bill saw the room occupied by three other people; a man and two women. The man was pale, tall, wearing a long traveller's cloak, and had short cropped brown hair. He was older than Bill by several years. The most striking of the two women was wrapped in brightly turquoise robes, had her hair fashioned in a bizarre up hair do, and was wearing bizarrely shaped glasses. The last person there was the most intimidating of the three. Bill guessed he may have seen one or two women in the marketplace better looking than this girl, but it'd be a long shot. She was wearing a long, tight dress and her hair fell down behind her in dark waves. Although pretty, she had a no-nonsense look about her that Bill decided then and there to test.

"Each of these individuals," said Forguk, motioning at the three people, "will be accompanying you on this assignment."

That hit Bill hard. "Come again?"

"I think you heard me," said Forguk, sitting at a conference table. "All of them have a need to either follow this specific assignment or to investigate cursebreakers. You are the only cursebreaker currently employed in Egypt. The rest are away or off work. You're our only option."

"Forgy," said Bill, upset. "The most I've ever had accompany me is a goblin or perhaps two. Now all of a sudden, you're sending me treasure hunting with three other people?"

"Let them explain," said Forguk.

Breathing heavily, Bill turned first to the tall pale man, but the older witch in turquoise robes pushed forward first. "Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet. Perhaps you've heard of me."

"Can't say that I have," said Bill. "The Prophet's not published in Egypt. Ever written anything for Sand Wizard's Herald?"

Rita smiled, feigning sweetness. "No, of course I haven't, silly. You see, the Wizarding community is itching to know more about the going-ons of Gringott's most unrecognized employees."

"Why would the wizarding community care about cart repairmen?"

Rita laughed again. It didn't sound remotely sincere. "I'm talking about the cursebreakers. Such daring and wanderlust. I hope to write a very informative series on you and your coworkers."

"Sounds fun," said Bill, trying to convey the sarcasm to this idiot better than he could to the goblins.

Bill turned to the pale wizard who glanced quickly at the second witch to see if she would interrupt, but she didn't.

"Quirinus Quirrell," said the wizard, shaking Bill's hand. "You may remember me. I taught Muggle Studies at Hogwarts. I started your fifth year."

Bill shook his head. "I took Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Sorry."

Quirinus shrugged. "Well, I've taken this year off to do a bit of first hand studying. I'm starting here, then traveling throughout Africa, and after that, I tour Europe. Professor Dumbledore promised me the Defense Against the Dark Arts post if it was available next year."

Bill still didn't understand. "And you're coming with me on this assignment because...?"

"Just want to study a bit of Dark Magic," said Quirinus, "and I was told by the government here in Egypt that this would be a good place to start."

"Why?" asked Bill.

"That would be why I'm here," said the pretty witch, whom Bill had deliberately saved for last.

"You're not the only one after this artifact," said the woman. "A Dark Wizard is trying to gather support from all over Africa and he thinks the Lotus may help him."

It was then that Bill realized he didn't even know what he was after yet. Lotus? Wasn't that a type of flower? He would ask Forguk in a minute. First, he had to ask, "And you are?"

Clearly this was the wrong thing to say. The woman now looked outraged. "You mean you don't recognize me?"

"Uh, should I?"

The woman was fuming. "My name is Asima al'Misri."

"Doesn't ring a bell," Bill admitted, trying to sound sheepish.

"You met me in the marketplace once. We had dinner at your flat." Bill had a sudden feeling he knew what was coming next. "I stayed the night."

Everyone else in the room suddenly looked away. Forguk didn't care, Quirinius because it was awkward, and Skeeter because she was scribbling frantically on a notepad.

Bill tried to ignore the other three people in the room. Thinking fast, he took another sip of his beer. "Was it good for you?"

Asima smiled, feigning sweetness, but was not nearly as practiced at it as the reporter. "I fell asleep."

"Definitely don't remember," said Bill. "Or you're lying."

Asima ignored him. "I'm a Medjay, the Egyptian equivalent to your Aurors."

"Great," said Bill. "On this assignment, I've got an Auror, a reporter, and a teacher. I sure hope I'm not going after something important, because there's no way I'll be able to get it if I'm babysitting."

Forguk stood now, showing Bill a scroll. "You're going after Zazamankh's Golden Lotus." Bill took the scroll, and read over the Ancient Runes. The rest were quiet. Skeeter cleared her throat. "Mr. Weasley, perhaps if you read it aloud, we would all know the background."

Bill gave the woman a dirty look, then spoke, "Many years ago, there was a pharoah named Seneferu. He was a foolish and gullible man. One day, Seneferu was sailing down the Nile in his barge when a servant girl, whom Seneferu had affection for, dropped a golden lotus adorning her hair into the water. The servant girl was very upset, so Seneferu ordered his court magician, Zazamankh, to retrieve the golden lotus from the water. Zazamankh, who was skilled with the magical art, retrieved the golden lotus from the water. Before Zazamankh returned the lotus to the servant girl, he placed an enchantment on it. Zazamankh presented the golden lotus to Seneferu, who returned it to the girl. From that day onward, Zazamankh was Seneferu's most trusted advisor, and Seneferu valued Zazamankh's words more than anyone and the entire Lower Kingdom adored the wizard."

Bill stopped reading. Skeeter scowled. "Yes. And then?"

"That's it," said Bill.

Skeeter continued scowling. "I don't understand. What enchantment did the wizard place on the lotus?"

"It is said that the wizard placed an enchantment of faithfulness on the lotus," said Forguk. "After the wizard presented the enchanted lotus to the pharoah, the pharoah put his faith and trust in him, almost exclusively. If someone presents the lotus to anyone, they will earn that person's obedience."

"That's why we believe a Dark Wizard may also be after it," added Asima. "If a Dark Wizard retrieved it and presented it to the head of a government, like in the story, he would gain the entire population's support. Entire governments could fall."

"Sounds pretty bad," admitted Bill, taking a seat and downing the last of his Corona. He grimaced. "Got cold while I was reading." He shot another dirty look at Skeeter. "So, I'm going scavenger hunting for a Golden Lotus competing against a Dark Wizard, while I'm being tailed by three people who'll need looking after. Great."

He turned to Forguk. "I'll want an advance."

"It's already in your vault," said the goblin.

"You know me too well." Bill stood, chucking the beer bottle into a waste basket over his shoulder. He grabbed the scroll, tucked it into his pocket, and left.

Forguk looked expectantly at the other three people. They didn't move. "You're with him," he said.

Suddenly, there was a scrambling to get out the door. The three hurried across the marble entranceway, following Bill out the door.

"Okay," said Bill, calling over his shoulder. "I'm not gonna pretend that I like this arrangement or that I think it's a good idea. So when we're out there risking life and limb, you are to do everything I tell you to do, without question or hesitation. Is that understood?"

He ignored the chorus of "yes's" from behind him. "This is an exceedingly dangerous line of work, and there is no room for losers on this expedition and no tolerance for people who get in the way."

Now, they arrived outside Bill's flat. "I'm going to stay inside and study today," said Bill. The other three looked at him expectantly. "I'll figure out where I need to go first. I'm leaving here at six o'clock sharp tomorrow morning. If you are not here, you will be left behind." With that, he entered his house, and shut the door in their faces.


	3. Zazamanhk's Tomb

Recap: Bill Weasley is given an assignment to get to a Golden Lotus that has magical powers to gain the allegiance of whomever it is presented to before a Dark Wizard does. However, he must do so with a teacher, a bureaucrat, an Auror, and a reporter on his tail.

A/N: I published the wrong chapter last time. I'd originally written it so that Bill was being chaperoned by Asima, Rita Skeeter, Quirrell AND a Ministry Bureaucrat named Edgecomb. However, Edgecomb's character didn't have any role other than sheer annoyance and I figured we'd have Rita for that and I couldn't kill him off as he's mentioned in Book 5, so I wrote him out. But I published the original Chapter 2 with him in it by mistake. I replaced it, but if you read the original, now you know why Edgecomb isn't even mentioned.

Disclaimer: I don't own s***.

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...

At 5:58 the next morning, Bill had finished his breakfast and was dressed. He wondered vaguely how many, if any, of the three people working with him would actually be there at six o'clock. Upon opening the door, he got his answer; one.

"Hey Querulous," said Bill, pulling his jacket tighter.

"Quirinius," corrected the wizard.

"Q," corrected Bill. He checked his watch. One minute. "I suppose I should wait for exactly six o'clock before we leave. Just in case they do turn up."

Quirinius said nothing. Wishing to avoid silence, Bill said, "So while we wait, what's your story?"

Quirinius spoke with clarity and dignity. He reminded Bill of his brother, Percy. "I graduated top of my class at Hogwarts. Slytherin house."

"I'm gonna hold that against you," said Bill, checking his watch again. Forty seven seconds.

"Just because I was in Slytherin house does not make me a Dark Wizard," Quirinius defended, somewhat angrily.

"No, it's just my brother played Quidditch for Gryffindor," said Bill. "I know not to be prejudiced about that. There are plenty of dark wizards who weren't in Slytherin and plenty of good wizards who were. Family friend, Andromeda Tonks. She was in Slytherin, but she's perfectly normal, compared to the rest of her family. But her murderer cousin, Sirius Black, was a Gryffindor."

He checked his watch again. Twenty two seconds.

"Almost time," he said.

Quirinius just stood waiting.

"Five... four... three... two... one. Six o'clock." He looked up, expectantly. None of the others were there.

"Well, time to go," said Bill. He held out his arm. Quirinius took it, tentatively, and they disapparated.

They appeared miles away, at the base of a stone building. The early Egyptian sun was bearing down on them, and the heat reflected off the sand and made them still hotter. A few early morning winds were blowing and Quirinius wished he were back underground. "Where are we?" asked Quirinius, letting go of Bill's arm.

"About twenty miles away from Dahshur," said Bill. He indicated the stone structure next to them. "This is Zazamankh's tomb. The lotus itself might be in here, but in this line of work, you'll discover it's never that easy. We may just find out the location of the lotus or we may just find a hint as to where the location of the lotus is."

Quirinius seemed excited. "What do you want me to do?"

"We're looking for a way in," said Bill, running his hands along the walls. "Egyptian wizards always hid the entrances to their tombs. Pretty tame compared to what we may find inside it."

They both started searching around the tomb, but Quirinius still had questions. "Why didn't the others arrive on time?"

"Because they wanted to show me that they can't be bossed around," said Bill. "I left when I said I would leave because I need them to know that I'm not joking around with this. They have to do what I tell them to do, or they miss out. Speaking of which," now Bill paused his search for the entrance. "Why did you show up on time?"

Quirinius looked stunned. "You said you were leaving at six. I didn't want to miss anything."

Bill nodded, impressed. "That was pretty gullible of you, Q, but good answer." He returned to scouring the wall of the tomb, hoping to come across the door.

"But shouldn't the others be here as well?" asked Quirinius.

"They will be," said Bill. "You forget, Skeeter's a reporter. I wouldn't be able to hide from her if I had an invisibility cloak. She'll find us."

"And the Medjay?" asked Quirinius.

"I heard her skulking around in my flat last night," Bill said. Quirinius looked up in shock, more so in the calm manner in which Bill said it than the fact itself. "She saw my research. She knows where the tomb is. Probably beat us to it."

Then, just in front of Bill, Asima lifted a disillusionment charm. "Morning," said Bill pleasantly, moving around her to inspect the next portion of the wall.

Quirinius was moving his mouth incoherently, watching Bill take being followed by this woman so... apathetically.

"How did you hear me?" Asima demanded, following Bill along the wall.

"You skipped dinner," Bill said. "I heard your stomach growl."

Quirinius would've laughed, but a sharp look from the woman quickly silenced him.

True to Bill's prediction, Skeeter appeared a few moments later, and Bill got into an argument with her (I told you I was leaving at six! Not my fault you weren't there!).

All in all, tensions were high as Bill cast several spells that he hoped may reveal the entrance. Finally, Bill discovered it on the Eastern wall.

"Lovely," said Skeeter, her annoyance with Bill vanishing as she tried to get back in his good books (as if she was ever in them). "Oh, by the way, I sent my first column to London by owl last night. It'll be in tomorrow's paper."

"I'll try to contain my joy," said Bill, as he cast his wandlight along the walls. The entrance looked fairly unremarkable. There were no signs of any obvious threat, only tables adorned with artifacts presumably belonging to Zazamankh. There were Egyptian hieroglyphs adorning the walls, but Bill ignored these. Bill cast a spell (Specialis Revelio) but found nothing. Not trusting the tomb at all, Bill said, "Stay behind me."

One by one, they entered the room, Bill in the lead, Skeeter closely behind him, Quirinius after her, looking about the place with fascination, and Asima bringing up the rear, her wand at her side. Unnoticed by the others, she sat a spiral shaped object on the stone table.

Bill proceeded down a hallway and was halfway through before he found his first curse. What looked like stalactites were hanging from the ceiling, but they looked odd; pale and bubbly in places. Bill cast another Specialis Revelio and said, "Stay back. These things are really cursed." Bill was unsure what to do. He tried Finite Incantatem and Scourgify, but neither worked on these strang wax-like things hanging from the ceiling.

"May I?" asked Quirinius, stepping forward.

"Careful, Q," warned Bill. "I'm not even sure what they do." He stepped back, allowing Quirinius more room.

Quirinius stepped up to the pale stalactites and whispered a few inaudible incantations. After a few moments, the stalactites imploded in on themselves and left the ceiling looking distinctly waxy and pale but otherwise free of stalactites. "Come through quickly," Quirinius said. "I only got rid of them for a moment."

The others hurried through, and Bill was impressed. "Way to go, Q," he said, once they were free. He made his way ahead of the others. "You know what they did?"

"They would've petrified us," said Quirinius. "Turned us to alabaster."

"Nice one," said Bill, taking the lead again. "You'd make a fair cursebreaker."

Quirinius grinned. "Nah, I was rubbish at Ancient Runes."

Past the petrifying stalactites, they came to a stone archway. Casting a quick Specialis Revelio to make sure it wasn't booby trapped and after learning it wasn't, Bill stepped through.

"What do you see?" asked Asima.

"Cats," said Bill.

Cats just about summed up the room's contents. Lining the room, standing in rows upon rows and columns upon columns were hundreds of clay cats. It reminded Bill of pictures he'd seen of Chinese tombs. The other four were looking at the figures with odd interest.

"Be careful," said Bill. His words echoed curiously across the room. After they faded away, the room was silent, except for the annoying sounds of Skeeter's quill. She was standing near the wall, all the cats facing her, and writing down whatever came to her head. Bill wished more than anything that she'd stop. It was driving him insane. Quirinius was walking up and down the aisles of the cats, grossly intrigued. Asima was standing at the door, as if waiting for something. Bill turned his attention to the runes on the wall, digging a notepad and quill out as he did so.

Bill was always good with Ancient Runes. It was probably his best subject when he was in Hogwarts and the primary reason he elected to become a cursebreaker. The rune translation came naturally to him and he had long since lost the need to consult rune charts as he read the runes, but he did have to write down the translation for memory's sake.

There were three walls with a separate set of runes. On the first wall, the runes translated to "The Golden Lotus rests at the bottom of the river beyond the sphynx." Not much help, Bill thought. He moved on to the next wall.

"Thief! If you seek the Golden Lotus, be warned that many have sought it and many have died."

Good old fashioned warning. Cool. And the last one, "The cats hide the key to starting."

The cats hide the key to starting... Bill eyed the clay cats suspiciously. He drew his wand and performed another Specialis Revelio. Bill learned that if you touch the figures they came alive and attacked. Bill had previously guessed as much but it was still disconcerting to confirm especially now that he knew the cats "hid the key to starting." How did they, anyway? Performing another spell, Bill learned they were hollow. The key to starting was hidden inside the cats that came alive and attacked you if you touched them. Brilliant.

Suddenly, a high-pitched noise sounded from the entrance. "What the hell is that?" Bill demanded, aiming his wand there.

"My sneakoscope," Asima said, pointing her wand down the hall too. "That dark wizard I mentioned? He's here with several followers, I'm sure." Quirrell also drew his wand, but a look of sheer terror crossed his face. Only Rita remained wandless now, as she scribbled manically on her parchment.

"Ok," said Bill. "There's something hidden inside these clay cats," said Bill. "They're hollow. Break them apart one at a time, because they come alive."

He aimed his wand at the head of a cat near him and blew it (the head) completely off. Then, the eyes of every other cat glowed bright purple and each figure started to move.

Dammit.

"Blast them!" shouted, Bill, jinxing each cat as they jumped at him, their claws extended. Skeeter finally stopped taking notes on her pad, because several cats were now clawing at her legs as if attempting to climb up her robes. Asima quickly stepped forward to help the poor reported fight them off.

Quirinius was holding off well on his own, jinxing the cats to collapse into dust. The sound of the sneakoscope got louder.

After several minutes of fighting off manic cats, their numbers began to dwindle and finally, Quirinius bewitched the last one and it too collapsed into dust. Now, the whole floor was covered in a thick layer of dust. "Look around in it," Bill instructed. Asima and Quirinius both started brushing their hands through the dust. "What are we looking for?" asked Quirinius.

"Something that's a key to starting," said Bill. "A map or something."

Sure enough, Asima discovered a map in the form of an old dusty cloth. Shaking the dust off roughly, she handed it over to Bill.

Bill stuffed it into his bag and then the sound of the sneakoscope stopped.

"They've disabled it," said Asima, seriously. "They're inside."


	4. Protection and Seduction

A/N: Ok, fair warning. There's a paragraph or two at the end of this chapter that is THE reason I decided to rate this story T. I've never written anything remotely like it on fanfiction before, so to my regular readers who aren't expecting such... blatancy; you have been warned.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

...

...

Skeeter was not a pretty sight under the best conditions, so it goes without saying that she currently looked horrid. Her robes were ripped, her hair falling, and her glasses askew after the cat assault. Bill could've laughed, except there was a Dark Wizard breaking into a tomb.

"You're the... McJay or whatever it is..." he directed at Asima, wracking his brains for the shield charm. Prodigy? Progeny? Protgany? Whatever. "What do we do?"

"First, make a barrier," the Medjay said.

There were loud voices and the sounds of running footfalls from the entrance. Then, screams of agony and a loud thud as if a statue was toppling. Which was what happened, as the opposing wizards hadn't successfully made it past the curse that turned tomb-raiders into alabaster.

"Done," said Bill. "What else?"

Bill noticed Asima was holding her mouth in a way that suggested she was trying not to laugh. "Gouging charms," she said, pointing at the ceiling.

"Good call," Bill agreed, and he pointed his wand at the ceiling. Quirinius joined them, but Skeeter seemed to be in such a fuss that she wouldn't help. They worked fast, as they could hear the wizards attempting to break past their fallen alabaster companions. At last, the Gouging charms won out and the ceiling was exposed to them. Bill reached down and picked up a stone just before Quirinius flicked his wand thrice and Bill, Asima, and Skeeter all shot through the gap in the roof and out into the open. Bill then shot a levitating charm at Quirinius who quickly joined them.

"Here," said Bill, casting a Portus charm on the stone he'd picked up and they all laid a finger on it. In an instant, they were whipped away by the newly made Portkey.

They reappeared in a dark, damp tunnel full of muddy, still water. Skeeter immediately let out a cry of disgust and tried in vain to get out of the mud.

"Where are we?" asked Quirinius.

"Dahshur," said Bill. He cast a non-verbal Patronus, a bird of some sort, which soared away. "Ok, Gringotts is gonna set up a Fidelius Charm on a safe house near here. We just need to stay clear of those wizards until it's set up." He turned to Asima. "Keep them safe. I'll be back." He trudged through the sludgy water, which the rest now understood to be a sewer, and climbed a frail ladder into the open air.

"Where are you going?" Asima called after him.

"Portkeys can be tracked," Bill called back. "I'm making sure they don't find us."

Asima watched as he vanished into the light. Then, making her decision quickly, she said to Quirinius, "Watch her," (pointing at the reporter). She leapt after Bill.

On the street, Bill tried to stay inconspicuous, which is difficult for a red-haired Englishman covered in sewer water in an Egyptian market place.

"William!" whispered Asima, right behind Bill, causing him to jump.

"Jeez," said Bill, grabbing his heart. "You trying to kill me?"

"Quite the opposite, actually," Asima said. She pointed to several individuals in the market. "Those are our guys."

Bill looked at her questioningly. "How d'you know?"

"That man," she pointed at a man sitting in the dirt playing with a small dog, "has a wand concealed at his hip." She motioned at a man standing near a stall across the road. "That man is attempting to blend in with the Muggles around him, but he's got a scarf wrapped around his leg, and that one," she pointed at a man arguing with a shop-owner, "is attempting to buy Muggle feminine products."

Bill looked at the three wizards with a sense of wonder. "Good eye," he said. "What should we do? We can't start a duel with all these Muggles around."

"Just Confund them so they won't follow us," Asima said. Bill nodded and surreptitiously pointed his wand at each man, Confunding them per Asima's instrucions.

At that point, a tiny elf owl landed on Bill's shoulder with a piece of parchment clamped in its beak. "A Gringotts safe house has been set up for Bill Weasley, Quirinius Quirrell, Asima al'Misri, and Rita Skeeter behind the apartment building on the main road."

"The Fidelius Charm is in place," said Bill, showing her the note. "Q and the reporter would've gotten one too." He led the way through the market (avoiding the still-Confunded wizards) and made for the location indicated in the note.

A small, comfortable looking house had been constructed by magic on the spot, invisible to anyone not welcome to the secret. The house was built of white brick, with green eaves and red doors.

"Looks like Christmas," Bill said, suppressing a chuckle. He didn't expect Asima to catch the reference, but she didn't ask.

They entered the house, which was much larger than it appeared on the outside when the sounds of a loud and hysterical voice met their ears. Rita Skeeter was apparently still shaken from the events in the tomb.

"Never in my life!" she screeched. "Never! Not in all my years, no!"

"Skeet!" Bill shouted, causing Quirinius to jump and Skeeter to look at him, her nostrils flaring. "Shut the hell up!"

The witch just stood there, breathing heavily and angrily. "Now," Bill said calmly. "What is your problem?"

"MY problem?" asked Skeeter. "Nothing except disrespect from you since we met, creeping past stalagmites that will turn you into effing stone, statues of cats attempting to tear me limb from limb, a Dark Wizard trying to murder me, and YOU subjecting me to disgusting diseased Arab sewer water."

Bill listened to her list without interruption. "You done?" he asked.

"Not hardly!" said Skeeter. "You may not know anything about how you treat respectable witches and wizards, I wouldn't expect you to know anything about manners being raised by that family of yours, with your fat little mother and your fool of a father. And of course like you could get any proper parenting with there being so many of you. My Lord, I cannot believe what you have put me through today! You have no idea who you are speaking to, and you've got me trumping through bloody sewer water!"

Bill hadn't reacted to anything she said. "NOW are you done?" he asked.

"In fact, I-" she started to say, but Bill interrupted.

"Yes, you are. Silencio!" The spell was cast so quickly and without warning that Rita didn't have time to counter it. She suddenly started moving her mouth up and down rapidly and furiously. Finally, fuming, she marched to the door and slammed it.

"That's the last we'll see of her," said Bill, striding to the kitchen and pulling out a jar of peanuts.

"My word," said Quirinius, clearly shocked. "I had no idea she was so rude."

"Q," said Bill, "she's a reporter! She thinks she's smarter than everyone and expects everyone to treat her so. That's why I was so rude to her and less to you two, because she's the one that needs her pride taken down a level or two." He offered Quirinius a handful of peanuts, and the wizard took them.

Quirinius shifted uncomfortably as he chewed them. "You weren't that rude," he said, finally.

"Thanks," said Bill. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the cloth with a map drawn on it. "Now, this map should lead to the location of the sphynx that guards the river. The river where Zazamankh hid the lotus," he explained when Asima and Quirinius gave him odd looks. He sat at the kitchen table, Quirinius joining him on his right and Asima sitting across from him.

"Sphynx's use riddles," said Quirinius. "Are you ready for that?"

"I'll worry about that when I hear it," said Bill. "Right now I want to find out where the bloody cat is." He was studying the map carefully.

"This doesn't look like anywhere in Egypt," he muttered as he stared at it. Asima peered over her shoulder. "It's not," she said. "This is most definitely Libya."

"He hid it in a different country?" Bill asked.

"Take a guess, oh great cursebreaker," Asima said, annoyed. "What ancient Egyptian painted maps on cloth?"

It took Bill a second to realize. "None. This isn't the map."

"Someone already has it," Quirinius realized.

"They might have the lotus as well," Bill said, thoughtfully. He started looking the map over.

"What are you doing?" Asima asked.

"Looking for a clue as to what the cloth is." He laid it flat on the table and pointed out something to Asima. "What is this?" he pointed to a word painted in on a corner, written in a language he thought might be a northern African dialect.

"The Purple Tribe," said Asima. "It is a Nomadic wizarding tribe that travels across the Sahara. They've been in trouble with the law enough, organized crime, smuggling, and gambling, but mostly feuds with other tribes."

"Everything's about tribes in Africa," said Bill. "You think this Purple Tribe may know the location to the Golden Lotus?"

"It is possible," said Asima, "but I haven't heard any news about them making new friends and alliances, so it may not be so."

"We'll have to arrange a meeting," said Bill.

Quirinius shook his head. "There's a problem with that. They're nomads. They could be anywhere in the Sahara desert."

Asima stood quickly. "Don't leave this building. I'll be back later with their location." With that, she turned to the fireplace. She grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the flames. "Medjay Office!" she said, and she disappeared.

Quirinius and Bill were subjected to several hours of Asima's absence. Afternoon came and went, and she still hadn't returned.

Just as the pair were finishing up their dinner that Quirinius had fixed, Bill heard the door open and shut. Asima had returned with a map of northern Africa.

"Some of the Medjays I work with have been watching their movements," she explained as she spread the map across the kitchen table where they were all seated. "I had to pull some strings to get this information, but I did get it." She pointed to a spot south of Gadamis, Libya. "The tribe was last seen here less than a month ago. Given the trade routes they've been known to follow, they may be somewhere around Awbari." She pointed out the city aways south from Gadamis.

"Brilliant!" said Bill. "We'll stay the night here and leave here tomorrow, shall we?" Asima nodded in agreement but Quirinius hesitated. "Q?"

Quirinius spoke slowly, not quite sure of himself. "The Purple Tribe is a crime tribe," he said. "Are we sure they won't have any relation with this Dark Wizard who's chasing us?"

"Not likely," said Asima. "African wizarding tribes may not be friendly but almost none of them seriously use dark magic."

Quirinius found Asima's explanation acceptable and after some initial planning with the other two, he went to bed.

It was very late in the evening when Bill finally decided to turn in.

"Bill," Asima called as he was leaving the room. "Don't you wonder about me?"

Bill was confused, and Asima saw it on his face. "I mean, why have you not asked about our past?"

Bill's face went red, which it didn't always do. "I just... um. I've never shown a girl the proper respect I know I should give her, I guess... and I can't honestly remember our night together... you aren't the only witch I've picked up from the market, you know."

Asima nodded, standing up and stepping closer to him. "I understand. I even knew it at the time. As charming and care free as you were about girls you took to your flat with you, the ease with which you picked me up... I knew I wasn't the first."

Bill stood rooted to the ground. He was trying to make a quick getaway without appearing rude, but something was odd about the way she was speaking to him now... it was almost... suggestive.

She was standing very close now and leaned in even closer. "But even though I knew I wasn't the first... I could not keep my mind clear enough at the time." She broke eye contact and looked at the floor, biting her lip. Bill had the slightest idea what she was getting at. "Earlier you asked me if it was good for me," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "And now I will tell you... it was the best I've ever had."

She was seducing him.

Bill realized it, and yet he didn't try to stop it. Alarm bells were ringing in the back of his mind as she kissed him, he was trying to knock some sense into himself as she worked her way down the hallway and into his bedroom. He told himself over and over "this is a bad idea" as they collapsed on his bed; as she tore at his clothes and he at hers.

Through the entire experience, he knew exactly what she was doing, but did nothing but act on his desire.

He enjoyed himself and didn't even regret it until the middle of the night when he heard an intruder down the hall.


	5. Broken Fidelius

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Bill Weasley is entirely JK Rowling's.

...

...

Bill slipped out of the bed, careful not to disturb Asima's sleeping form. He heard the intruder creeping around in the kitchen. Hoping for a little more time, he pulled on underwear and a pair of jeans, then slowly crept into the hall way.

The intruder's robes had given him away, Bill had heard them sweeping across the floor as he walked. Bill approached the door into the kitchen and held his position. The intruder was leaning over the map of Libya where Bill, Quirinius and Asima had left their notes the night before.

Bill didn't have his wand. Cursing himself silently, he stalked closer and closer, trying not to make a sound.

However, Bill's body was slower to transition from asleep to awake than his mind was, and the intruder heard his knee snap as he stepped forward. The only reason Bill wasn't killed instantly was because the intruder was surprised to see a shirtless redhead approaching him in the kitchen. Then, Bill sprung.

He launched himself over the table, knocking the map out of the intruder's hands and kicking the intruder in the face.

The intruder tripped over his robes and fell to the floor. Bill rolled off the table and landed on the wizard with a sickening thud.

Bill wrapped one arm around the intruder's neck and the grabbed the intruder's wand with the other.

The sound had carried throughout the rest of the house and Bill was joined by Quirinius, with his wand.

Quirinius looked from Bill to the intruder and understood immediately. "I'll go get Asima, shall I?"

Bill nodded and Quirinius ran back. Then, something clicked in Bill's mind and he only had time to scream "Q, wait!" before he heard Asima's voice screaming, "AHHH! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!" and Quirinius's voice screaming "I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!" He ran out of the hall with his hands clamped over his eyes and promptly ran into a wall and fell over.

"She was naked!" he hissed. Then he realized how clothed, or otherwise, Bill was. Comprehension dawned on Quirinius's face.

"Oh..."

"Yeah."

"You two?"

"Yeah."

"And he?"

"Yeah."

"So you?"

"Yeah."

"Oh..."

Bill stood up and dragged the intruder to a couch in the sitting room. He had Quirinius bind him, then said, "Stay here."

He went to his room and opened the door aggressively. Asima hurriedly pulled on the sheets to cover herself. Bill crossed to the dresser and picked up his wand, then pointed it at Asima. "Go to the sitting room."

Asima's jaw dropped and her face went red. "I'm not dressed!"

"I don't care!" Bill snarled. "Take the bed sheets if you must, just go!"

He forced her at wand point to the sitting room, then turned his wand against Quirinius. "You, too. Stand next to her."

Beyond confused, Quirinius and Asima stood there, Quirinius in a night gown and Asima holding up the sheets, her face getting redder all the time.

Bill reached into the intruder's robes and pulled out a knife. "He's an assassin," he said. "And there's only two ways he could've gotten in here. One, he forced our secret keeper at the bank to tell him or two, he murdered our secret keeper and one of you or Skeeter told him. Gringotts would never betray their assets, they're too greedy for that, so I know our secret keeper's dead and one of you led him to us or Skeeter did."

He pointed his wand at Asima. "Skeeter may think I'm rude, but she wouldn't hire an assassin and you're the only other one to leave the house."

Asima feigned surprise at the accusation. Bill could tell her surprise wasn't sincere. He was quite good at reading people.

Asima then broke, apparently realizing Bill saw through her acting. "Alright," she said. She adjusted the sheets to better cover herself. "I didn't lie to you. I am a Medjay. But I'm a double agent. I've been pretending to have my father's loyalty so I would get information on his actions. That's how I found out he was after the Golden Lotus and why I was assigned to your protection. To keep my cover. I've been feeding him information; where Zazamanhk's tomb was, where our safe house was..."

Bill's wand faltered. "Your father?"

Asima nodded. "The Dark Wizard after the Golden Lotus is Riyasat al'Misri. My mother realized what he was after I was born and fled to the Medjay Office for protection. I've made it my concern to stop him and the best way to do that is for him to think I'm loyal to my father, like the dutiful Arab daughter he thinks I am."

Bill didn't lower his wand. Quirinius was looking shocked. "You murdered our secret keeper?"

"To maintain my cover," she said, not appearing ashamed at all (despite not wearing any clothes). "It was just collateral damage."

Bill's anger mounted. "Just collateral damage? You didn't know him! He was probably like me! He might've had a wife, a family! People who loved him!"

"I'm sure he did!" Asima countered, "But his death may help thousands of other families from not being destroyed if this Dark Wizard takes power."

Quirinius never said a word. He sat down in an armchair, clearly hurt by Asima's betrayal.

Bill's mind worked fast. "You're just like some of the Aurors I've heard about back home. Using unforgivable curses against Death Eaters 'for the greater good.'" He'd never been angrier at anyone. "You're going to stay with us." Quirinius looked up in shock. "We'll help you maintain your cover, but we're not letting you out of our sight and we're not gonna let you murder anyone else."

The Medjay nodded. "Agreed."

"And," said Bill, "after this is all over, I'm going to report you to the Medjay Office."

This time Asima shouted, "No! They'll suspend me or worse I will lose my job! My career in law enforcement will be over!"

"It's no more than you deserve," said Bill, lowering his wand. "Now go back to the room and put some clothes on."

Asima hung her head as she left the room. She paused at the door. "I am sorry he had to die," she admitted, "but otherwise, my father wouldn't trust me and I wouldn't be able to defeat him."

"There is no excuse for murder," Bill said, not looking at her.

She opened her mouth to say something else, then closed it and turned back down the hallway.

Bill looked up at Quirinius. "We're gonna have to keep an eye on her."

Quirinius nodded, still shaken.

"She may not be honest," Bill said. "You can never tell with double agents. She could be with the Medjay Office or she could be with her father. I'm not gonna make the mistake of trusting her again."

The rest of the night passed uneventfully; in the morning, Quirinius wiped the assassin's memory and they left him unconscious in an alley.

Then, they apparated to a point outside of Awbari, the town they figured the Purple Tribe would be close to. Asima cast several helpful locating spells but to no avail.

"You don't think they could be concealing themselves with magic, do you?" asked Quirinius.

"They certainly could," Asima answered, "but they probably wouldn't. Tribes like these aren't into creeping around. They are more direct. Less secretive."

Bill didn't like it. The information they were working off of came from Asima; it could be a trap. He kept his wand in his hand at all times.

"Maybe we should try westward, more," he said. "Maybe they're moving slower than they usually do."

So they apparated aways west and after several more hours of searching the sand dunes, Quirinius called out, "I think I've found them."

He was standing on top of a particularly high dune, and Bill and Asima had to struggle against falling sand to get to his position. When the reached the top, the saw what he was speaking of; a campsite with people milling around inside. Asima pulled out a pair of magically enhanced binoculars and took a closer look.

"Not very nomadic, Q" Bill said, indicating the semi-permanent looking structures around the campsite.

"But I think that flag has the emblem of the Purple Tribe on it," said Quirinius.

"He's right," said Asima. "Check it out." She tried to hand him the binoculars. Bill cast a quick meaningful look at Quirinius (keep your eye on her while mine aren't) and Quirinius nodded. Then, Bill took the binoculars and put them to his eyes. He found the flag and saw that it was indeed the same symbol as was on the cloth they'd found in Zazamanhk's tomb.

"But if that's them," Bill said, "why aren't they moving around? Aren't they a nomadic tribe?"

"Could be anything," Asima said. "Let's go investigate."

They apparated just outside the campsite and approached visibly; Bill didn't want the tribe to think they were sneaking up on them.

"Something you didn't think of," Asima hissed as they approached. "They're not going to just hand over the map to the Golden Lotus. What will they expect in payment?"

Bill had thought of that, but hadn't quite come to a conclusion. "I figured I'd just trade you for it. You know, as a slave."

Asima did not laugh.

The African wizards allowed Bill, Asima, and Quirinius to enter the campsite, but they kept casting them dark, mistrustful looks.

"You speak... whatever they speak?" Bill asked the Medjay.

She did. She asked one of the tougher looking wizards where she may find the Tribe's prince. He told her.

"This way," she said, and they walked deeper into the camp.

As they approached the indicated tent, Bill noticed two graves dug into the sand. Could the nomad's decision to remain in one place be because of a death?

Bill was close. They entered the tent to meet the Prince and Bill realized it was a Healer's tent. There were several magical remedies that Bill recognized as products being sold around Basik Alley cheap. Sort of outdated magic, but quite effective.

Not effective enough as Bill saw the answer to the mystery of the stationary nomads; one of the tribe was seriously injured. It looked as if the entire right side of his body had had a bad run-in with a werewolf wielding a double-edged sword. He was bleeding profusely and Asima immediately bent down to help the resident healer.

Bill heard her speaking in the tribe's language as she helped patch up the young man, and when he distinctly heard "Bill Weasley" and "Quirinius Quirrell," he figured she was also handling introductions and, presumably, the reason for their visit.

After the boy was patched up, but looking all the worse, Asima stood back up. "The tribe can't relocate for the boy's injuries," she said. "He's been like this for a week. He was attacked by an Inferius. They managed to fend it off, but not to destroy it completely, and get him away and they've been patching and repatching his wounds every hour since." She indicated the bandages, only recently applied, but appeared to be aging before their eyes. "They're cursed wounds, they won't heal properly without modern magical care or until the Inferius that caused it is slaughtered."

Bill nodded. "Why isn't the Inferius in the village right now, finishing them all off?"

"Protective charms," Asima said simply. "I did mention the map from Zazamanhk's tomb, and the Healer did say the Prince had it, but they will want payment."

"Payment like getting rid of an troublesome Inferius?" asked Quirinius.

Bill and Asima both picked up their heads. "You can do that?" Bill asked.

Quirinius shrugged. "Sure. I know how to defeat an Inferius without taking out the Dark Wizard that made it first."

"Do we even know who made it?" Bill inquired of Asima.

Asima shrugged. "Any member of a dozen different African tribes, and that's just in this region alone."

"So whatever knowledge you possess, Q, we'd love for you to share."

"Alright," said Quirinius. "Give me some time to think of a plan."

...

...

It was nearing the end of the day when Quirinius revealed his completed plan to Bill and Asima. He had them meet in the center of the camp, close enough to the entrance to be seen.

"We're putting a lot at risk," Asima said. "Not just our lives, but the lives of the nomads in this tribe as well. They may be less willing to help us if some of them are killed by our plan."

"They'll get over it," said Bill. "It's all just collateral damage, after all."

Seeing the disfigured and distorted figure of the Inferius-attack-survivor had momentarily driven Asima's true identity from their minds, but Bill wasn't so quick to forget entirely.

"I'm honestly more worried about you two," said Quirinius. "As close as you would have to be to it, if I do something wrong, my spell could hit one of you or it could easily attack you."

"We'll take the risk," said Bill. "We need that map, and we need it before her daddy figures out where the Purple Tripe is, that's even if she hasn't already told them."

"They have their own connections, they'll figure out anyway," Asima said, angrily. "He'll find the Purple Tribe eventually, which is why we should put some protective enchantments on them as we leave, but also important that we get the map out of here."

"Oh, she does have a heart," Bill said, sarcastically.

Finally, Quirinius put his foot down. "Would you two cool it for two seconds? For this plan to work, we'll need teamwork. If you can't trust each other, we're gonna have to figure out how to get rid of the zombie somehow else."

"No time," Bill agreed. "We're ready. We know the plan."

"Ok," said Quirinius. "Let's dig that hole then." The two wizards and one witch waved their wands and, just off to the left of where they were standing, a small pit appeared.

"Shall I grab and drag, or shall I bury?" asked Bill.

"Clearly you don't trust me, so I'll bury," Asima answered.

They stood on the opposite side of the hole and crouched down.

"When I remove that charm," said Quirinius, "we're completely defenseless. Are you sure you're ready?"

Asima nodded. Bill gave Quirinius an encouraging, "Go for it, Q."

"Alright," said Quirinius. "Hold on to your wands."

He flicked his own and the charm surrounding the entrance to the campsite lifted. It was a straight-shot from the entrance to where Quirinius stood. He cast a spell that caused a racketing and irritating sound. Then, they waited.

They didn't have to wait long.


	6. The Sphynx's Riddle

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

...

...

The clamor Quirinius was making was to attract the Inferius, and only a few minutes passed before it arrived.

It was an ugly sight to behold. It's left leg was completely limp and it's right leg was at an odd angle. All the flesh had dripped off the arms so that they were only bone. The Inferius's once ebony skin had grayed significantly. Most of it's hair was missing, but what hair was still there fell down to the creature's shoulders. Its teeth were almost completely blackened, and its eyes seemed larger than natural, but were devoid of all humanity. It looked like a Muggle's worst idea of a zombie.

The protective enchantments down, the Inferius entered the campsite untroubled. Quirinius kept up the caterwauling charm to draw the Inferius closer to him.

The creature's eyes swept over the entire compound, but it couldn't develop an interest in the other wizards it sensed hiding in the buildings with Quirinius just ahead of him and making that racket.

It started moving faster, worried that Quirinius might get away and the Inferius would have to find an easier meal. But Quirinius stood his ground, challenging the Inferius further and further. Quirinius was just out of arm's reach when he lifted the caterwauling charm.

For a second, only the echo of the caterwauling charm and the soft moaning of the Inferius remained. It was eerily quiet, and Quirinius broke it, when he shouted, "Now! Diffindo!"

Bill had leaped from his hiding spot between Quirinius's "Now!" and his "Diffindo!" and seized the Inferius from behind. This was the moment all three of them had been fearing, as the spell was meant to decapitate the beast, but it would narrowly miss Bill. Time was crucial though, as Bill dragged the body away from its falling head to avoid them reconnecting. He shoved the body in the pit they'd dug and Asima wasted no time in filling it in.

The head of the Inferius rolled around, growling madly. Quirinius lifted his wand once again and shouted, "Confringo!" and the head let out one last cry of anguish before it erupted in flames and burnt to nothing.

All of this happened in a matter of seconds, and it had been executed perfectly. Bill let out a celebratory whoop and seized Asima in a tight embrace before he quickly let her go, remembering her true identity.

Quirinius let loose a heavy sigh as the nomads clambered out of the buildings to rush towards him. They tugged at his robes and made what were clearly shouts of praise.

"I think you've got a new fan club, Q," Bill called as he stepped forward.

Asima headed for the medical tent. "I should be able to heal the boy's cursed wounds now."

The Prince of the Purple Tribe stepped forward and said in broken English, "You will stay the night, and the map leads to Golden Lotus; the map is yours. And take this turban in thanks," and he placed a purple cloth over Quirinius's head and magicked it into a turban for him. Quirinius, at this point, was looking extremely awkward.

He leaned over to Bill and whispered, "What am I ever going to need a turban for?"

Bill shrugged. "You're covered if you ever get an ugly wart on the back of your head."

The Prince pulled a wooden chest from his robes and opened it, revealing rolled up papyrus and offering it to Bill. Bill gingerly lifted it out and rolled it open. There it was. Written in Ancient Runes was the sign for Sphynx, and beyond that, River, and beyond that, the sign for the Golden Lotus.

And it was just north of Minya.

"It's north of Minya," Bill said, breathing heavily. "It's right here. We can go there tonight. Our assignment will be over."

Bill had scarcely spoken these words when a bright jet of light blasted over his head and hit the medical tent. The whole tent erupted in flames with Asima inside.

Bill could feel the heat from the fire on his face but didn't want to believe it. The nomads were already scattering back, seeking shelter from this new danger. Bill tried to run forward to see if Asima was out of the flames, but there was no way she could've survived.

It occured to Bill that Quirinius was holding him back. The thought calmed him down enough to think straight; Asima was dead. She couldn't have survived that curse.

Bill turned to face the new enemy and realized their mistake; they hadn't put the protective enchantments back up.

Before them was a man dressed in flowing, white robes, with a long black beard and dark eyes. Something told him it could only be Riyasat al'Misri, the Dark Wizard after the Lotus. And Asima's father.

"Burn the campsite," al'Misri said, in English for Bill and Quirinius's benefit.

"No!" shouted Bill, and he turned and flung the papyrus map as hard as he could into the flames.

"No!" shouted al'Misri, this time in Arabic. "Grab it! Don't let it burn!"

Several of his followers ran forward, but the flames were too strong and it was already too late. Bill and Quirinius were seized from behind and held tight.

"The Lotus is lost forever!" al'Misri shouted in Bill's face.

"No, it's not," Bill spat back, and Quirinius looked at him in shock, looking still more absurd in his purple turban.

"I know where it is," Bill said, "and I'll show you."

"Bill, no!" hissed Quirinius, but the wizard holding him just gripped him around the neck so he couldn't speak.

"But only if we leave now, and you don't hurt these people," Bill said.

Al'Misri gave Bill a piercing look. "I see," he said. "An honorable man." He drew his wand and placed it on Bill's exposed throat like a knife. "I was never one for honor and all that nonsense. There is only power. Honor and glory mean nothing compared to who simply makes the rules."

"Then no deal," said Bill. "You kill us now, and then no one will ever find the Lotus."

"I could get it out of you," said al'Misri, turning his wand instead on Quirinius. "An honorable man such as yourself may rather give up the location than watch your companion suffer."

The wizard holding Quirinius loosened his grip a little just long enough for Quirinius to say, "Don't do it, Bill!"

Al'Misri turned his evil gaze onto Quirinius. "I sense a great destiny about you, Quirinius Quirrell. Your study of the Dark Arts will reveal the true nature of the world to you and you will be a great tool for Dark Magic."

Quirinius's eyes met al'Misri's with defiance. "Don't try to tempt me."

"I won't," al'Misri said, "but don't forget what I have told you." He turned back to Bill. "Alright, we'll have it your way. We will leave this village, and you will lead the way to the Golden Lotus."

Bill and Quirinius were released, but their wands were taken so they couldn't Apparate. They were forced at wand point onto a large flying carpet just outside the campsite's boundaries.

The twenty or so dark wizards joined them and the carpet lifted off.

"Well, man of honor," said al'Misri. "Where are we going?"

Bill said, "There's a Sphynx somewhere north of Minya, a city on the Nile. Beyond it is the Lotus."

Al'Misri barked something in Arabic and the carpet flew off.

They were surrounded by Dark Wizards, so Bill couldn't formulate a plan with Quirinius, but that didn't stop his mind from working furiously.

A thought occurred to him, and he wondered if it would work. It would involve quicker moving than the trap for the Inferius, and Bill wondered if it was possible at all.

The feeling that Bill had back at the tomb where he was getting the Heart of the Nile came back to him; the feeling that death was coming ever closer.

Bill wondered if dying itself hurt. If his plan went wrong, then certainly the method by which he would die would hurt a lot, but he couldn't help but wonder what death would feel like.

He hoped he wouldn't find out.

It was in the early hours of morning when the carpet landed in the desert. Bill could hear the Nile River flowing just out of sight. The dark wizards in league with al'Misri lit their wands and illuminated the area ahead of them.

"A sphynx, did you say?" came a voice from behind Bill, and he didn't have to turn around to know it was al'Misri.

"Yep," said Bill, "and I see it too."

It was true, up ahead, just before the water's edge, was a sphynx. It had the face of a fair woman and the powerful body of a lioness.

"I'm guessing you want me to answer the riddle," Bill said, taking a closer step backwards to al'Misri and brushing up against the wizard's robes.

"Better you than us," al'Misri grunted, and he shoved Bill and Quirinius forward.

The two wizards edged closer to the sphynx, which gave them a look with very knowing eyes.

"You are very near your goal," she said. "The only way is past me."

Bill smirked. "So move."

The sphynx shook her head. "No. Not unless you can answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess- I let you pass. Answer wrongly- I attack. Remain silent- I will let you walk away from me unscathed."

Bill nodded. This wasn't his first sphynx, and he'd heard the exact same instructions before. "Alright, let's hear the riddle, then."

"First think of something that lives when it is fed

but when you water it, it will be dead.

Then, using that word, think of what you can no longer do

After that word had happened to you.

Put the two of them together and I want you to say

What goes up, then out, then fades away."

Quirinius turned to Bill. "The first part, it's a desert animal of some sort."

Bill arched an eyebraw. "How do you figure?"

"It's fed, right? It requires food, but it's dangerous for it to get wet!"

"There's only one creature I can think of where it is truly dangerous for it to get wet," said Bill. "Come on, you said you were gonna be a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. You should know this."

Quirinius's eyes darted back and forth as if he was reading the D.A.D.A curriculum from memory. Bill saw a flash of light that might have been comprehension when Quirinius said slowly, "Salamander?"

"That's right, Q" said Bill. "Salamanders can't get wet."

Quirinius was still confused. "But the second part. You're not able to do something after a Salamander has happened to you?"

"You're getting ahead of yourself, Q," said Bill. "Think about it for a second. Why can't Salamanders get wet?"

Quirinius thought for only a second, then answered slowly, "Because they're made of fire?"

"Yes, exactly," said Bill. "You can feed a fire, but you can't water a fire."

Comprehension lit up on Quirinius's face quickly after that. "And when you're fired, you can't work anymore!"

"And something that goes up, out, then fades away," said Bill,

"Is a firework!" they both said together.

Quirinius turned to the sphynx to give them the answer, but Bill clapped his hand over his mouth.

"An ear of corn!" he said loudly.

The sphynx gave him a questioning look. Then, rearing back on her hindlegs, she said, "Wrong answer," and she pounced.

Bill had been afraid of this moment, and knew so much depended on his speed now. He drew his wand and quickly thought, "Protego!"

The sphynx hit his shield charm and cartwheeled over him, and her teeth and claws landed instead on the Dark Wizards standing behind Bill and Quirinius.

Bill handed Quirinius's wand, which he had swiped from al'Misri's robes (along with his own) when he'd backed into him after they'd landed, back to Quirnius. Then, ignoring Quirinius's bewildered expression, Bill hurried Quirinius into a boat the sphynx was guarding and pushed off the shore.

Al'Misri managed to get the sphynx off with a Killing Curse. The attack had lasted only a moment, but his numbers had already dwindled to just a few others. It didn't matter. After he got the Lotus, he'd have hundreds of followers.

First, he had to kill that meddlesome cursebreaker.

...

...

A/N: Before anyone asks, yes the sphynx's lines before the riddle were word for word from Goblet of Fire.


	7. Sultaan Mansour

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

...

...

The boat magically powered itself away from the shoreline, and Bill and Quirinius quickly found themselves at a greater distance from the shore than they would've anticipated in that amount of time. The boat was clearly bewitched to go faster than it appeared.

In fact, Bill got the feeling that the boat wasn't moving at all. Upon closer inspection, Bill saw it wasn't.

"We must be directly over the stone," said Bill.

"That's not all we're directly over," said Quirinius. Bill looked down and saw hoards of crocodiles swimming all throughout the water.

"The good news," said Quirinius, "is that the river's pretty shallow, and clear enough. If we look, we should be able to see the stone from up here."

But Bill already saw it, glimpsing through the gaps between the crocodiles beneath the surface. It was a perfectly symmetrical flowering bud, and Bill recognized the shape of the lotus flower, but rather than pinkish white or bright yellow, the flower was perfectly golden in color.

"How do we get down there?" asked Quirinius.

"There was an incantation to part the water and retrieve it," explained Bill. "It was written on the map we got from the Purple Tribe. I did read it, but I'm not sure I can remember it."

"Do you remember enough?" asked Quirinius.

"Ytlay olg," Bill said, squeezing his eyes tight and pinching his temples. "Ytlay olg... niyd..."

Quirinius watched him apprehensively. "You're doing good," he whispered.

"Not helping, hush," Bill said, quickly. He kept his eyes shut. "Ytlay olg niyd... nufo tubytu aeb..."

"Come on," Quirinius whispered, not loud enough to be heard.

Then, Bill stood and said triumphantly, "Ytlay olg niyd nufo tubytu aeb foton enihsi!"

There was a sound like howling winds, and the water just at the boat's starboard side began to swirl in a kind of whirlpool, like a miniaturized maelstrom.

The crocodiles swam away from the whirlpool, and the water opened up to the murky bottom, so it was like a pillar of air. The lotus was resting in the mud.

Without hesitation, Bill jumped out of the boat and down the tunnel and seized it. "Alright, Q," he said, "let's get out of here before al'Misri catches up with us."

"It is too late for that, Englishman!" and Bill craned his neck to see another boat, seemingly conjured by al'Misri and his men, on the opposite side of the whirlpool from Quirinius, at whom several wands were pointed.

"Accio lotus!" cried al'Misri, waving his wand, and the lotus came flying out of the pit and into al'Misri's hand.

"Now get me out of here," Bill shouted.

And to everyone's amazement, al'Misri waved his wand again and Bill ascended to surface level and landed in the boat with Quirinius.

"Good," said Bill, stamping the mud off his boots. "Now you are to go to the Medjay Office and turn youselves in, but first, Expelliarmus!" he disarmed al'Misri and the lotus flew from the wizard's hand and into Bill's.

Then, al'Misri and his men disapparated.

Quirinius was only confused for a second, then broke into a smile. "Al'Misri's summoning charm didn't work did it?"

"Cursebreaking is never that simple," Bill said, as he and Quirinius started rowing back to the river's edge.

"You tossed it up to him, and that counts as presenting it to him?"

"Yep."

"So now he'll obey any order you give him?"

"Yep."

Quirinius observed the lotus in Bill's hand. "So it's like an Imperius Curse in a flower?"

"Golden flower," Bill corrected. "But yes. I suppose when Zazamanhk crafted it, he was thinking it was a more humane use of the Imperius. Giving someone a flower is far more pleasant than pointing a stick at them."

...

...

Bill returned to Alexandria that afternoon alone. Forguk was waiting for him in the conference room, along with an Egyptian wizard who introduced himself as Sultaan Mansour, Head of the Medjay Office.

Forguk was appraising the lotus Bill had brought in, (although, Forguk had pick-pocketed it from Bill before Bill had entered the room) and Mansour was asking Bill some questions.

"We have apprehended some members of the Purple Tribe whose stories match up with your own," Mansour explained. "That Asima al'Misri was murdered by Riyasat al'Misri in the Sahara. We also want to apologize for the death of Gringotts employee Ahad Mikhail, who was killed to maintain al'Misri's cover."

Bill's eyes flashed dangerous. "I can't speak for the rest of Gringotts, sir, but I do not condone al'Misri's 'collateral damage' as she calls it. I call it murder."

"It was a necessary loss to maintain her cover," Mansour explained, his expressing darkening.

"Nothing happened to blow her cover between breaking the Fidelius Charm and al'Misri's death, yet she was killed anyway. Riyasat already knew his daughter was betraying him, he was only using her to find the map that would lead him to the lotus."

Mansour said nothing. "We will investigate. Fortunately, al'Misri turned himself in this morning. Any explanation why that may be?"

Bill lied easily. "No."

Mansour gave Bill a piercing look. "You didn't command him to-?"

"If you're suggesting I mishandled the Golden Lotus," Bill said, speaking over the Medjay, "the answer is no."

Mansour didn't look pleased. "That'll be all," and he started to leave the room, before he turned and asked. "Where is Quirinius Quirrell?"

"He's already moved out," said Bill. "Travelling throughout the rest of Africa for the next couple of months, then he'll be in Eastern Europe."

"We'll be in touch with him," said Mansour. "It is our understanding that Riyasat al'Misri had some seer blood in him and that he made a prediction that Quirrell would be a 'tool for the Dark Arts.'"

"It was a prediction, not a prophecy," said Bill.

Mansour nodded. "If you hear from him again, tell him to be careful. Studying the Dark Arts can be a very dangerous occupation." And he left.

"Git," Bill muttered, as he positioned himself more comfortably in his seat.

"As always, outstanding work," said Forguk, setting the Golden Lotus down and emotionlessly praising Bill.

"Despite the babysitting," said Bill.

"Quirrell and al'Misri were both capable of taking care of themselves. Al'Misri's death was unavoidable, if her cover was already blown. The only real concern you had was Skeeter, who left before the first day concluded, as I understand it." The goblin gave Bill a knowing look.

"Skeeter was a hindrance and we were good to be rid of her," Bill explained.

"Well what she has to say about you is only somewhat kinder," Forguk said, extracting a newspaper from the folds of his jacket and reading aloud.

"Dear Readers, my promise to report on the adventurous and exciting occupations of Gringotts's Cursebreakers has sadly been broken as I report with a heavy heart that the Cursebreakers of Gringotts are completely uncooperative to share their stories with the public. One particular William Weasley (23), a long-haired pillock if ever I saw one, was surly and rude throughout our entire conjoined assignment, at some points refusing point blank to explain his research or findings and allowing his companions, myself included, to be harmed in a dangerous booby trap."

Forguk stopped reading there. "Just to be clear, was the booby trap dangerous?"

"If you're allergic to cats or dust," said Bill.

Forguk nodded, knowingly. But before Bill could stop himself, he had to ask, "Long-haired pillock?"

Forguk shrugged.

Bill shifted uneasily in his seat again. "You're not upset that I... I dunno... embarrassed the name of Gringotts Bank, are you?"

"Not nearly as upset as I would be if I ran the Daily Prophet," Forguk sighed. "Anyway, there's another assignment for you."

"Fill me in tomorrow," said Bill, standing now and making to leave the room. "There's something I need to do first."

...

...

She'd probably already received condolences from the Medjay Office, but Bill reasoned since it was his assignment, he should make it more personal.

He knocked on the door to the small house in Cairo and a moment later, an elderly Egyptian witch opened it.

"Do you speak English?" Bill asked.

"A little," the woman said. "Asima teaches me some." She was tearful at the mention of her daughter's name.

"She died on my assignment," Bill explained. "I wanted to come by and give you my condolences."

The woman cried softly and opened the door wider to admit Bill.

"Her father killed her," the woman said, angrily.

"I don't think you have to worry about Riyasat al'Misri ever again," said Bill.

...

...

It was nighttime when Mansour approached the wizard prison, Farafra. Unlike it's European counterparts, Azkaban and Nuremgaard, Farafra wasn't guarded by dementors. They were regular witches and wizards who would turn a blind eye should Mansour need a private moment with the prisoner.

Mansour made his way to the newest inmate, Riyasat al'Misri, who didn't look troubled in the least.

"You accepted the Golden Lotus from William Weasley," he accused. Al'Misri didn't deny it.

"That means, if William Weasley commands you to round up your men and escape from this prison, you would have no choice but to obey." Mansour didn't know why he felt the need to explain all this to al'Misri anyway. It was meaningless to him, as his senses would be dulled by the Lotus's effects. "William Weasley's Uncles are Gideon and Fabian Prewett. They were killed in Britain's Wizarding War several years back. They were members of the Order of the Phoenix."

Riyasat said nothing.

Undaunted, Mansour kept talking. "If what you yourself have predicted will come to pass, Lord Voldemort will return within the decade. Quirinius Quirrell, an English wizard and Hogwarts teacher studying the Dark Arts is travelling to Eastern Europe which is where Lord Voldemort is currently hiding. If he returns and the Order is resurrected, I don't want Weasley using his influence over you to break you from this prison or let you out of this country.

Riyasat could see where the talk was going, but due to the Lotus's effects, he felt no fear.

"Weasley has left me no choice," Mansour said.

"You'll regret this," Riyasat warned.

Mansour raised his wand, pointed it through the bars of the cage and whispered, "Avada Kedavra."

...

...

A/N: I couldn't think how else to end it, or for that matter, if this was the end. Anyway, I left it open for a possible sequel/ part 2. Let me know what ya'll think (if there will be, though, it won't be for a while).


	8. Cursebreaker: Part 2

Ok, guys, I'm starting college this week, and then chances at updating fanfictions will become drastically scarce.

I do not have any of it written yet, be on the lookout for Cursebreaker: Part 2.


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